Cat's Shouldn't Play with Black Magic
by PureVampirePriestess
Summary: Ten days to save yourself, Ten days to save the one you love, ten days to fight with the darkness, Ten days to run from your fears. And then, you're free. Shinichi wasn't sure what he expected when he investigated the Kuroba's summer house, but what the two teenagers found, was not what he ever wanted to experience ever again. KaiShin Rated M for later chapters. Yeah, it's smut.
1. Epilogue: Meeting

Detectives often came about problems throughout their life. Some had reoccurring criminals they had bring them down. Some had the unfortunate luck of running into large cases. Others had the problem of running into cases everywhere they went. Shinichi Kudou had all three problems, which sometimes it made him wonder why he ever wanted to become a detective. Despite all of the hell he went through being a high school detective, he couldn't deny the pleasure of putting criminals in cuffs. He loved the sheer enjoyment of taking apart a case and putting the pieces together only to impress people when he revealed the truth. He liked the look on their faces when facts were explained that no one had even known about. The thing he loved almost as much as solving a case was knowing that people depended on him. They wanted to know that with his judgment they would be safe, and he loved reassuring people of that. Sure the fame was nice and the fan mail was flattering, but he loved putting criminals behind bars even more knowing that other people could sleep well at night.

He used to like the fame more before he became Conan. He was a stuck up Holmes snob who only really cared about figuring out the puzzle and opening fan mail from pretty ladies after school was out. After the black order had come into the picture he didn't like the cameras and publicity as much. It was a constant fear of being seen that soon left him as the humble soon-to-be adult that Shinichi was now. And Shinichi was indeed Shinichi, not Conan.

Ever since he had turned back into Shinichi he had kept himself out of the papers. He made sure that the cases he took were small and didn't have to do with murders at all. When he wasn't solving cases he stayed in his house when he could. School was really the only reason he left the Kudou mansion on a regular basis. The only times that he went out for long periods of time had to be special; buying food so he didn't starve and trying to catch Kaitou KID would be two of the main reasons. Of course, hunting down Kaitou KID wasn't a very good reason according to Haibara, but Shinichi needed to do some sort of puzzle game to exercise his brain while he worked to take down the B.O.. So Shinichi would wait for those once a month heists with itching anticipation, hoping that he would be able to sneak past Haibara long enough to play cat and mouse with his favourite criminal. Hunting KID had become something of a habit. He kept himself to the shadows and made sure that he kept things short and to the point when he confronted the thief.

"Haibara," The detectives voice called from the living room of Agasa's house. Ai entered from the basement where most of her tests were done and wrote something down on her clip board.

"Already tired Shinichi-kun? It's a shame, you lasted longer the last time we did this." She said walking over to the teenage detective where he was lying on the couch with electro pads stuck to his skin.

"No," Shinichi breathed, worn out from the procedure being done. "but I have a meeting soon, I don't want to be-" Shinichi was cut off when shocks surged through his stomach and legs. His back arched off the couch and his toes curled into the upholstery. Haibara wrote something down and only stopped when Shinichi collapsed onto the couch again, panting and trying to collect himself. "...late." He managed to pant out and Haibara looked from him to her notes a few times before shutting off the machine sitting next to him.

"Fine, but remember what we agreed on." She scolded as she began to take the pads off of him. Shinichi rolled his eyes but nodded.

"Just stick to the case that I've taken on. You've been telling me this all morning." He explained and Haibara nodded.

"Exactly. If someone drops dead in front of you, keep walking." She says and Shinichi scoffed but stayed quiet.

He already knew that. With the Black Order still out on the loose, any involvement in a public case could be life or death for him and the people he knew. He wasn't so stupid as to get himself killed.

Shinichi stood up from the couch, nearly falling to the ground when his legs almost gave out. Haibara gave him a weary look as she wrapped up the machine.

"Are you sure you're in good enough condition to be going out?" She inquired as Shinichi dusted off his jeans. The detective looked at her and stretched his legs.

"We do this every week Haibara, I'll be fine." He said and bent over to grab his shirt. His spine protruded under his skin, visible when he did this and he looked fairly malnourished from where Haibara was standing, but she just couldn't convince him to eat more than a one thousand calorie diet. The electric shock therapy was supposed to help his depleted muscles and make sure that he could get through the day without getting too tired. So far Haibara could tell it was working, but if he didn't start eating right then no matter how hard they worked, his muscles wouldn't get any better. "I'll be back around dinner time." Shinichi said making his way to the door after he had thrown his shirt on. Haibara made a sound of agreement before turning and making her way to the basement door. Shinichi smiled at the still small adult and made his way outside.

It was fairly bright out for the morning, but it was more often like this in the summer. Shinichi very much liked the warm mornings when he could walk around and not be freezing his tail off. So with a deep breath and hands in his pockets, Shinichi walked back to his house next door and said goodbye to the sun as he entered the dimly lit mansion. Ran was waiting for him in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in hand. He smiled at her and took the coffee with a thankful nod.

"How did your session with Agasa go?" She asked as Shinichi took a sip of his coffee. He sat down at the bar next to her and put his mug down, holding it with both hands.

"As good as it can. My session should have been longer, but I have a meeting with some people who want me to investigate their house." He explained bringing the mug to his lips and taking another sip. Ran got up from her chair and made her way around the bar. "I'll get breakfast on the way there." Shinichi explained as he saw her opening the fridge. Ran turned to him with a serious motherly face that he often saw as Conan and Shinichi leaned away from her a bit.

"No you won't. That's why I'm going to cook you something before you leave." She demanded and reached into the fridge for the ingredients. "You don't eat enough Shinichi and your weight is suffering because of it." Things were quiet for a moment as she looked down at the floor. "I know that you can't eat much at one time because of the incident, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't at least eat something to keep your current body weight." She said as she got ready to cook. Shinichi sighed and leaned his chin on his hand. Shinichi knew he probably should have told her the truth.  
It had been nearly another year before he had returned as Conan and when he returned to his teenage body the lack of nutrition had left his muscles as they were when he was an eight year old. Because of this, Shinichi couldn't return to the Kudou mansion like he had planned. Conan had returned to living with his parents in America, but Shinichi had been kept at Agasa's house in order to help him recover. His rehab was still ongoing, but he had to drop off the radar from everyone but the two doctors for two months. When he met with Ran again he was forced to use a walking stick so he would be able to walk places with her. Ran had questioned him thoroughly about why he looked to starved and Shinichi had to make up a story about how he was kidnapped for two months and only fed once every few days. It seemed fairly convincing at the time, but now he just felt horrible,when she brought it up. She was hurting because he was put through a hell that didn't happen, but he couldn't tell her the truth yet. So he was forced to deal with her comments and her force feeding.

Its not that he didn't want to eat, it was just hard because he got sick if he ate too much. His body wasn't used to eating adult meals and sadly, getting sick happened all too easily in his current condition. When Ran had finished making him food he began eating right away after a glance at the clock on his phone. He had an hour to get ready which didn't leave him with very much time to shower.  
"Agasa told me that you should be able to play soccer again soon." Ran explained as he chewed a mouth full of rice. "Isn't that great?" She quipped and clapped her hands together. Shinichi smiled at her habit of motherly reassurance and nodded. He hadn't been able to play soccer at all since he had returned to his body.

Halfway through his meal Shinichi had to sit back and take a breath. He was starting to feel a little sick again and Ran seemed to notice. She picked up his plate and took it over to the counter next to the sink. "I'll pack this up for you so you can eat it on the way." She explained.

"Thanks Ran." Shinichi said putting a hand over his mouth as he let out a silent, but unsettling burp. His brows scrunched in irritation before he stood. "I'm gonna go get ready to leave." He huffed out and she waved goodbye with her back turned as she put the food in a left over container.

Shinichi made his way down the hall and looked to the top of the stair case. He remembered not being able to climb these at one point, but now as he stepped forward, he climbed them easily. Well, as easily as one could have. He was a tad winded when he reached the top.

His shower was warm and left him refreshed when he got dressed for the day. He chose to wear casual clothing since he was meeting someone he had already met before. Sure they weren't exactly friends, but they were at least acquaintances. His school uniform wasn't extremely comfortable anymore either considering he had to wear a belt with it that dug into his hips. He slipped on his socks and made his way out into the hall again.

"Shinichi?" Ran's voice called from downstairs.

"Yeah?" He answered while making his way downstairs. Ran was standing by the door with her jacket on and Shinichi's food in hand.

"I'm heading out. Did you want to walk to the train station with me?" She asked. "I'm meeting Sonoko at the mall." She explained. Shinichi nodded as he walked towards her and grabbed his own jacket from the rack. It wasn't cold out, but the wind made it chilly.

"The kids came over again yesterday." She explained sadly. Shinichi tried to look disconcert at this. He understood their concern for Conan, but they needed to understand that he wasn't coming back.

"What did they want?" He asked as they turned the corner out of the mansion gates.

"To see if Conan had visited." Ran muttered. Shinichi could tell she was pretty beat up about Conan leaving. The children were just making that feeling worse, but no matter how many times Conan called to tell them to stop they just kept showing up. He probably shouldn't call them anymore. That was probably why they kept going to the detective agency.

"Have you told them that he's not coming back?" He asked. Conan had told them this a few times, but they didn't seem to believe him. Ran nodded solemnly. Shinichi sighed, not sure what else to say. You can only say so many things to kids. Even these kids.

Ran and Shinichi talked for a while longer before they reached the station. Shinichi waved goodbye to his childhood friend before turning and making his way to his own train.

He ate the rest of his breakfast on the train, making sure to pack it all back up before he arrived to the address he was given. He knocked on the door and waited looking around at his surroundings. A fairly large American styled house, no garden in the front but there was a porch swing, they surely had a good amount of money from the state of the house. It had a green lawn and fairly recent siding. Shinichi observed more of the house before there was a crash from inside and some cursing followed by the door being wrenched open. Shinichi was surprised to see the boy he had met a while ago, about his age looking back at him, but what surprised him even more was the fact that the teen was covered in pink glitter and green glue.  
"Are... You okay?" He asked as the boy just stared, shocked by the one standing in front of him that looked just like himself. When he didn't answer Shinichi leaned closer and gave him a befuddled look. "Hello?" He asked and the boy shook his head. Glue and glitter flew from the ends. Shinichi flinched back to avoid getting hit with glue.

"Heh," The boy laughed opening the door and stepping fully into view. Shinichi saw more glue and glitter. "Sorry. My magic kinda got the best of me." He explained gesturing to himself. Shinichi hummed and nodded, entering the building when the boy stepped out of the way.

"Kai-Chan, is the detective here?" Came a female voice from down the hall. The boy pulled some glue away from his face and glowered when it pulled at his hair.

"Yeah..." He grumbled rather loudly and retreated down the hall. Shinichi took off his shoes and glanced around for the slippers, but after seeing none, walked down the hall after his look alike.

"Good." The female voice said again, getting louder as he got closer to the room. He followed the boy- Kai-Chan, though he doubted he'd be calling the boy that- into the sitting room. A woman with short brown hair and pretty amethyst eyes walked in holding a tray with a tea set on it. She set it on the table and smiled at him as she too sat down. "Kai, go clean up while I inform the detective about what we're gonna do today." She said. Shinichi noted the casual accent to her voice but knew that it wasn't Kansaiben or any other accent from Japan that he knew of. "Now then," She said once the teen had left the room. "My name is Chikage ." She introduced herself. "Kai -Chan'll be down in a bit. Would you like some tea?" She asked as she picked up the pot.

"Yes, please." Shinichi said and sat down as she poured him some. "I'm sorry if this is a bit rude," Shinichi began. "but where are you from?" He asked as he took the tea cup from her. She grinned.

"I was born here, but I like to travel a lot, so I've picked up a weird accent. Does it bother you?" She asked, still grinning. He smiled a bit shaking his head.

"No, I had noticed from the way your house is styled. It has an American setting, but a French interior mixed with Japanese structure. Its very unique." Shinichi explained. The woman's face was a mix of shock and fascination that Shinichi had often seen on people who expected nothing less from him.

"Impressive." She said and sat back in her chair with her own tea. "But I'm sure you'd like to get to business." She said and took a sip of her tea. Shinichi nodded and did the same. "This visit is probably unnecessary, but we'd like to make sure we cover all the bases. The place that we just bought as a summer house needs to be touched up and renovated, but the people that we send there have been disappearing if they stay overnight. So far the only people who've been returning are the day watch and us of course." She explained, Shinichi nodded. "There hasn't been any occurrences where the bodies have been found bloodied or beaten to death or I would have called the police, so I wanted to bring in you instead." She explained. Shinichi sat his tea on the table and leaned forward to lean his elbows on his knees.

"Has anyone been found?" He asked, referring to the missing peoples. She shook her head.

"No one has even reported them missing. The families I mean. It's like they never existed. Only me and Kai-Chan realized that anyone is missing." She explained. Shinichi's brows lowered in confusion.

"That can't be possible." He offered. She met his confusion with an equally stumped frown. "Well, I'll see what I can do." He confessed. She nodded and sipped her tea again. The familiar face from earlier thumped down the stairs and Shinichi looked over just as he entered the room.

"Oh, Kudou-San, this is my son Kaito. Kai-Chan, this is Shinichi Kudou." She formerly introduced them. She stood with Shinichi as Kaito picked water out of his ear. He was fresh from the shower with a plaid button up thrown over a white t-shirt. Shinichi had time to glance down at his slim jeans before he offered a hand for Kaito to take. "You two look nearly the same!" Chikage Said cheerfully. Shinichi inspected Kaito briefly, noticing the mischievous spark in his eyes before his hand was gripped by Kaito's and there was a sudden poof of pink smoke. Surprised, Shinichi let go of the teens hand to take a step back. Chikage Let out a unamused noise and there was shuffling before a window opened and the smoke slowly faded away. "Kaito, I've already told you not to do those types of tricks in the house, and certainly not to our guests!" She scolded.

Shinichi heard Kaito chortle before he looked down at himself and saw that he was wearing Kaito's clothing. Upon further inspection he saw that Kaito was wearing Shinichi's clothing and his hair was now almost exactly like Shinichi was wearing his. However when he reached up to his hair he realized that Kaito had styled Shinichi's hair like Kaito's had been. The messiness of it mildly irritated Shinichi, but he ignored it for now. Right now he wanted to figure out how the boy had managed all of this without Shinichi feeling it. When the last of the smoke wafted from the room, Shinichi realized that his socks had also been changed. He was about to ask how he had managed this without feeling anything himself when the room turned at an odd angle.  
He had to sit down.

"Woah, I didn't know you were gonna pass out on me or I would've just stuck to a hand buzzer." Kaito confessed as Shinichi stumbled back into his chair. Admittedly it wasn't because of Kaito's trick. It was because he hadn't eaten the special diet food that Haibara usually made him that morning when he had the electrotherapy. Shinichi shook his head.

"Sorry, it's not because of you..." He explained as he ran a hand through his already messy hair. He nearly missed the concerned look that ghosted over Kaito's face when he ran a hand down his own. It seemed odd, but right now he was more worried about his blood sugar. "I'm fine. Don't worry." He said more to himself than to his clients. Carefully, he stood up again and reached into his back pocket to pull out a small candy. He unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth. Candy wasn't one if his most favorite things to eat considering he didn't enjoy the taste of sweets, but it was the quickest way to raise his blood sugar level without sitting down to eat another meal. Kaito didn't look as concerned as before and was actually looking at the clothes he was wearing.

"You sure are skinny." He said and Shinichi let out a huff. Kaito's mother walked up behind Shinichi and smiled.

"I'm sorry about that. Kai-Chan likes to show everyone his magic the first time he meets someone." Chikage confessed and Shinichi shook his head. It wasn't like this was their first meeting. Kaito grinned and made a gesture with his hand and Shinichi watched as a rose popped out of nowhere.

"I'm gonna be a famous magician one day!" He exclaimed. Shinichi seemed surprised at this but didn't let it bother him too much. Kaito gave a mischievous grin. "Even better than Kaitou KID!" He said and waved his arms causing all of his hidden pigeons to escape out of his, well they were actually Shinichi's, clothing.

Shinichi found this interesting. Kaito was obviously a good magician, but KID had years of training up his sleeve. Shinichi doubted this teen could be so good at magic. He wasn't given more time to think about it though. They had to get a move on if they were going to make it back before dinner. He didn't want Haibara yelling at him again.

Kaito's mother made a small whistling sound and all of the pigeons came flying back to her. She pet one on the head before turning her attention to Kaito.

"Why don't you put your birds away and then we'll leave?" She asked. Kaito pouted and placed the rose he had conjured up earlier in Shinichi's hand before making the same whistling noise. The birds flew over to their master happily and made little cooing sounds while Kaito walked across the room.  
Shinichi inspected the rose in his hand as Kaito left the room. It was red with a long stem and didn't have any thorns. Shinichi was so fascinated with it that he didn't see the worried look Chikage gave him.

"Are you sure you're alright Kudou-san?" She asked and Shinichi looked over at her. He nodded.

"Yes, I just had low blood sugar." He spoke around the hard candy in his mouth. "It happens every once in a while." He spoke and she nodded in understanding.

Kaito came back into the room minutes later wearing his own clothes again with his wild hair back to normal. He handed Shinichi his own clothing and Shinichi nodded gratefully. Before he could even ask where the bathroom was there was another explosion of smoke and his mother let out an angry sound.

"Kaito!" She said and he let out a cackle.

"It's faster this way!" He exclaimed, his voice sounding like it was in Shinichi's ear.

Shinichi jumped a bit at the sound of his voice being so close. It wasn't that he didn't mind the other teen being close in proximity, it was how close he was. Now that he was paying close attention, Shinichi could feel the ghost of a hand on his wrist. The feeling made him shiver and want to reach out to grab his hand, but he refrained. Instead, he waited until the smoke was cleared away so that he could look at himself again. With a sigh of relief he ran a hand over his shirt.

"Alright, shall we get going?" Shinichi asked, ignoring Kaito's smug grin.

A/N: I have no idea how many pages this is. My phone wont tell me. So, this was originally a Black Cat story, but I felt that it was better suited to be a Detective Conan story. Its easier to write knowing that I don't have to ultimately do a crossover or AU. It'll take some time to do the second chapter, but I assure you I'll have it out in a reasonable amount of time.


	2. Day One: Necromancers

A/N: And authors said unto the, let there be chapter two. Enjoy~

Day 1: Necromancers

Kudou Shinichi wouldn't call him self a narcissist anymore, not since returning to his original body. He still thought of himself as the great detective of the west, but he no longer pushed it in other people's faces. One thing he did do was pride himself on his patience and knowing what to do in emergency situations.

Today, Kuroba Kaito was testing how far he could push Shinichi's patience. All during the car ride to the Kurobas' summer house Kaito chose to perform magic for the two. Just little things. He didn't want to cause an accident while his mother drove them.

He would bring doves out no where and watch them crawl up onto his head before rolling down his arm as a tennis ball after a small puff of smoke. Other tricks were performed which Shinichi didn't mind. He kept his mind busy with trying to figure out how Kaito had completed his tricks. However, when Kaito realized that Shinichi was anything but entertained he began pulling tricks out of _Shinichi _and the detective didn't enjoy that. He couldn't understand how silk scarves were being pulled from his coat, or how a rose was suddenly in the sack that he kept his bento in.

The magician was being incredibly persistent in getting Shinichi to corporate with him. Even going to far as to ask for a volunteer in the audience. It had made him smile at first, but after the fourth hour of his endless magic, Shinichi just wanted to take a long nap. Haibara had told him not to push himself. What would she tell her if Kaito ended up pushing Shinichi too far?

When they finally ended up at the house Shinichi was surprised to say the least.

"I thought you said this was a house!" He nearly yelled when the gate opened in front of the car. Chikage hummed.

"Did I?" She chirped. "Well it is a home. We'll be staying here every summer!" She said in a singsong way while pulling through the acres of their front lawn.

"Yes, but I'm not sure if we'll be able to investigate an entire castle in a single day." Shinichi pointed out. Haibara told him to be home by sunset. If he wasn't she would worry her tail off, if not call the police to have them search for the detective.

"Oh, we'll drive you home at sunset and pick you up tomorrow." She explained still pulling up to the front of the castle.

Shinichi hadn't even realized there was a castle this size in Japan. He had seen plenty of shines, but this was something from warlord stories.

"Do you mind if I ask how you bought this?" Shinichi asked, honestly curious. Chikage finally pulled up to the castle doors and looked around at the finely cut grass.

"I'm a world rebound magician just like Kaito's father was." She paused, giving a moment if silence to her husband before continuing. "I have extra money just lying around from all my shows. The house we live in now is small, and was completely paid off by Toichi when we first moved in." She explained. "I haven't had to pay anything like mortgage on it since we got the house." She quipped while throwing the driver door open and hopping out. Shinichi could understand where Kaito got his energy from now as Chikage spun around and made amazed noises.

"This place is great!" He heard Kaito chime in. "There's plenty of room for me to practice my magic now!" He said cheerily as he looked at the perfectly tended to yard. That seemed off to Shinichi.

"Do they take care of the grass here?" Shinichi asked. Chikage paused in her gawking to look out at the land.

"I don't think so. I mean, we don't pay for house and land keeping." She grew a tad solemn then. "Everyone is afraid to come here now." She had barely finished when there was a rustle behind her.

They turned, Shinichi more sharply than the others, to see a old man and two younger females walking through the front door. They were all smiling brightly.

"Welcome home Mrs. Kuroba." They spoke and Chikage semmed a bit nervous about hearing them speak.

"I'm sorry... But do I know you three?" She said nervously. Shinichi's eyes narrowed at the exchange before the old man spoke.

"We are the house keepers here miss. We have been caring for this place since we were born." He rasped, fixing his glasses that covered his eyes with the glare of the afternoon sun. "We had wanted to welcome you ages ago when you first visited, but we were busy tending to the home." He said with a formality that Shinichi only heard from his age group. Chikage immediately bowed, realizing that they were of no harm to them.

"Oh! Well its certainly nice to know that someone's been takin' care of the place." She said, her loose Japanese contrasting greatly with the older mans voice. Shinichi had to remind himself that it wasn't Kansaiben that coming from the woman's mouth. It sounded similar to the way Heiji spoke, but clearly not the same. "I hope my workers that I've sent haven't been gettin' in your way." She apologized. The three house keepers gave polite chuckles before the shorter woman spoke.

"No, you're alright. We work around others. Living in a castle has taught us to stay out of other people's way." Her voice was high and airy, as if she sang for a living instead of doing housekeeping. Both Kuroba's seemed as surprised as Shinichi was by her voice.

"Well, alright..." Chikage trailed off, not knowing what else to say. Both of the ladies curtsied and the man bowed before the two women stepped to the side and the man pushed the door in.

"Why don't you come inside where it's a bit warmer?" He said and the three hesitantly stepped inside.

The inside of the building was odd. Shinichi had never been in a castle before. He expected it to be cold and dusty, but instead it was warm and everything shone brightly on the white granite floor. The lights lit above them were actually electric and not candles.

"The workers must have gotten some of the renovations done." He heard Chikage mutter as they walked through the main hall.

"I'm afraid you are incorrect Mrs. Kuroba." One of the maids, the taller one, explained. "We haven't had anyone come into the building. All of the workers have worked on the outer building. All of this has been out work." She explained. Shinich's brows furrowed and was about to comment but was reminded that they hadn't said the workers had been _inside_ the building. The other two seemed to think the same thing, but Kaito still opened his mouth.

"Just the three of you did the entire castle?" He asked. It was a good question. Shinichi couldn't see how they had managed to do the entire castle. The old man opened the door on the opposite side of the room and cold air blasted them in the face.

"This is a unique castle lad." The old man spoke. "All hallways are actually crafted as external parts of the castle." He explained as they made their way down one of the halls. Instead of walls, there were arches that had beaten paths on each side leading to the outer yard and court yard in the center of the castle. Some more inspection on Shinichi's part and he realized that the castle was wrapped around in a rectangle like garden. Even in the cold air, the flowers were alive and colourful. Before he could get a better look at it, they were in another room, a study. "Why don't you all sit down? I'll have Angelica make you some drinks." He offered and Angelica, the shorter woman, gave a quick curtsy before turning.

"Oh, please let me help. I'd like to get to know the kitchen as soon as possible!" Chikage said and Angelica, stopped suddenly to look back at the old man.

"Oh, please, go right ahead. You are the woman of the house now, do whatever you feel is the right thing." The old man prompted. Chikage made an excited noise and followed after Angelica without a second thought. Shinichi and Kaito were left in the dimly lit room with the other maid and butler who stood on either side of a couch. Both boys stood in the doorway, one looking around in interest while the other, Shinichi, stood looking at the two caregivers with mild interest.

"I hope you don't mind, but Kaito and I would like to take a look around as well." He said, not to be informal, but he was wasting day light and at this rate, he was going to have to call Haibara and tell her that Shinichi would be back later than planned. The two helpers simply bowed to them and Shinich turned away to pull Kaito through the open door back into the cold.

"Ow, Shin-chan what was that for?" Kaito said once they were back in the foyer. Shinich let go of his arm and looked at the stairs.

"Shin-chan?" He realized and looked back at Kaito who was rubbing his arm. "Please don't call me that." He said seriously and Kaito grinned.

"No can do because Shin-chan is Shin-chan no matter what." He said and Shinichi sighed just as the light went out. The room was sent into darkness, only light from the small windows coming through and shining on the floor. They both snapped to attention, looking up at the vaulted ceiling where the lights had been. The door where they had come through only moments before eased open and Shinichi took a few steps away as someone holding a lantern stepped through.

"Terribly sorry about this." The old butler's voice said as he came into view. Shinichi took a calming breath in. "The power goes out a lot here. We've been trying to get the electrician to come fix it, but he hasn't seemed to come by." He continued and Shinichi only nodded as the butler passed and disappeared through another door. Both teens looked at each other and smiled nervously.

"Talk about creepy." Kaito said and Shinichi let out a laugh of agreement as they both tried to calm their erratic hearts.

"Come on. I wanna check upstairs." Shinichi said, turning towards the stairs. Kaito followed close behind as they started up the stairs silently. The occasional creeks sending eerie echoes through the hall. Kaito felt another chill up his back. Though he had three layers on for the cold, there was still a distinct coldness to the air as they ascended to the second floor. There wasn't a breeze either, just a cold spot. He looked up at Shinichi who didn't seem to notice as Kaito rubbed his arm reflexively. Looking up, Kaito nearly fell back down the stairs at the loss of balance, but still looked up into the inky black that was the ceiling.

The ceiling was nearly two stories high; It complimented the castle which was, surprisingly only half the height in the outside halls. What made him keep staring wasn't the ceiling itself. No, he couldn't see the ceiling. Only black. It was dark but the faint light that the windows emitted should reflect off of the marble floors and up onto the ceiling.

"Kaito?" He jumped and looked over at the detective who was half way up the stairs while he was still on the eleventh step. He glanced back up at the ceiling once more before hurrying up the stairs after him. "Are you okay? You seem kind of out of it?" He asked. Kaito grinned.

"Just peachy Shin-chan!" To which he received a skeptical look. Kaito's face grew serious before he shook his head. "It's nothing. Nevermind." He ran ahead and stopped at the top. Shinichi met him seconds later and they headed to the first room. "Another study." Kaito said staring in awe at the room.

Books lined the walls of the large room from ceiling to floor. Not one spot for knick knacks like his mother loved to use as book holders. A fireplace in the center of one of them with a large ebony carved desk at the far end with a heavy ebony chair. The chair looked like it had been carved from the very wood it sat on as the floor was also ebony planks. A black Bears pelt lay on the floor. Kaito walked to the middle of the room and took a closer look at the bear.

"Cool. I wonder what kind of person lived here before us." Kaito mused petting the bears head. Shinichi walked up next to him looking around.

"The same person that would have two thirds of his library about the dark arts." He commented. Kaito turned to look at him in surprise. He was staring intently at one of the book on a shelf.

"Black magic?" He swallowed and walked over to the same shelf inspecting the books. "Sounds like someone I know." Kaito mused about Akako as Shinichi pulled a book from the shelf and tossed it to him. With a surprised squeak he caught it and stared at the cover. "This is..."

"Book of the dead: Spells. I'd say that this person liked his relatives a lot." Shinichi plucked the book from his hands and put it back on the shelf. Kaito shivered at the sudden chill in the room and reached up to pull his coat around his shoulders. He touched His double layered shirt sleeves and looked over to his left to see the coat gone.

'I must've dropped it when I caught the-' His thought was cut off when he noticed it hanging on the desk chair. "Hey Shin-chan?" He asked staring at the coat. Shinichi turned to him in question. "Did... did you put my coat on the chair?" He asked.

"No, Why?" He asked standing next to the magician. Kaito gestured to it with his head.

"Um..." There was a sudden rumble like a growl coming from the fireplace. Kaito turned to look at it. The hearth was shaking slightly and the shadow was turning an inky black which seemed to twist and turn. Hetook a step back as Shinichi took a step in front of him. As if that would help them. He'd seen enough of Akako's magic to know when to run in the opposite direction. The blackness began to take shape but kept its inky black color. "Shinichi… I think we should-"

"Stay back." Shinichi interrupted as Kaito's back bumped against the book case. He kept looking at the figure that began to take form.

Black formed into long arms and legs, talons on every ligament. A head sprouted from its center, hunching over like a goblin like creature. With its hands just brushing the hearth it slowly looked up. Its eyes, if Shinichi could call them that, were a bright red color, like fire. It had no hair to speak of, but it had pointed ears that curled at the end and when it was done a crimson tint covered its body. Its hide was covered with small barbs with a leather-like texture. It ginned at them with razor teeth that were surprisingly white.

"What the hell?" Kaito was too distracted by the demon in front of him to notice that Shinichi had just cursed. He gripped onto Shinichi's shirt and continued to stare at it as it stared right back. They needed to get out of there. Fast. This was bad knews. Kaito didn't want to get eaten by a hell's spawn.

"This is bad..." Kaito whispered. He thought Shinichi glanced at him from the corner of his eyes but Kaito was too preoccupied with the red being in front of them. "It's a demon..." He clarified. "Devil's from hell's gate, or whatever you believe in. Shinichi's we need to get out of here. Now before…" He couldn't finish. This had been a terrible idea. No wonder people were disappearing. Shinichi scoffed and turned to it.

"This thing isn't a demon. Demons don't exist." His voice was sharp as the demon stepped forward. Kaito glanced up to see his eyes hard, but he was still an idiot. The demon was now advancing, slowly, foot by red foot. Kaito gave him a hard tug.

"They do Shinichi, we. Need. To leave. Now!" He yelled as it charged. Kaito let out a yelp of shock as Shinichi dove to the side with him. The demon hit the book case forcing it the fall. The shock of his own impact had him shaken, but he still stumbled to his feet and didn't look back. He tried to quickly pull Shinichi to his feet.

"That couldn't have lived through getting a bookcase like that collapsed on it." Shinichi argued as he was forced to his feet. Kaito grabbed him by both arms just as the book case rustled and he let out a curse before picking Shinichi up. He grabbed his coat and ran for the door. Slamming it closed with his foot he ran down the hall for the stairs.

Which way were the stairs? With all the adrenaline running through his veins on his heists, you'd think he'd be used to escaping, but all his thoughts were blurred; he suddenly realized. He couldn't remember why they had come here or the layout where they had walked to get to the study. Running past the stairs suddenly, he back tracked, ignoring a yelling and struggling Shinichi in favor of taking the stairs three at a time.

There was a sudden laugh that echoed in the mansion. Kaito halted at the bottom of the stairs. The jerk of his sudden stop made Shinichi's head spin. The laugh continued. It was crazed and high pitched. Shinichi wanted to cover his ears to block it out but knew the sound would break through his fleshy barrier. When it finally stopped he struggled out of Kaito's hold and looked up at the ceiling. He didn't know why. Just the sudden impulse to look anywhere but forward.

"Well it looks like we have more visitors." A girly voice said.

"Again?" A bored man's tone came echoing through the hall they stood in. It sighed. "Well then they have nine more days, don't they?" It made Kaito uneasy. Where was his mother?

"Mm. But they'll end up dead anyway." The girls voice chimed in as if this was the most happy conversation in the world.

"Dead?" Shinichi nearly snarled. The girl gave a bark of a laugh before responding.

"Why we haven't introduced ourselves." She asked sadly suddenly. The male voice chuckled.

"How rude we have gotten over the years." The man's voice was suddenly close. Shinichi turned around, Kaito following the motion.

"Please forgive our rudeness." The man said. He was wearing a tuxedo from the 1800's with a top hat sat on his head. His hair was fairly long. It reached about down to his chin in the front and at the nape of his neck in the back.

"You see," They whizzed around nearly giving Kaito whiplash in order to look at the girl that stood there. Her 1800's dress flowed around her. Her elegant hair wrapped in a silver cornet. "We are the inhabitants of this castle."

"Inhabitants?" Kaito whispered. The girl chuckled.

"Yes." The man responded and Shinichi turned to see the man walk slowly over to the girl. They met half way and the girl took his arm. "My name is Suigetsu and this is Akane. We have been the owners of this castle for nearly one thousand years." He smiled graciously.

"Right." Shinichi said. "That's wonderful. Now, if you don't mind I think my friend and I would like to leave." He explained grabbing Kaito's arm and tugging on it. Elizabeth laughed again. Her purple orbs glistened.

"Oh, you can leave." Shinichi's body tensed and he glared at them. "But only if you can last nine more days with our friends." She said. "You see we get fairly bored after 100 years with nothing to do. So Suigetsu and I came up with a little game. We seal this castle with infinite darkness for ten days and see if you can live. Then after that. You're free to go. If you come back we'll allow you to come and go without fret. Get it?" She winked and held up her pointer finger. "It's a game of trust. If you're physically able to withstand that much you're able to deal with black magic." Shinichi's grip on Kaito tightened. Kaito cringed but kept looking at the couple before them.

"And if we find a way out before the ten days are up?" Shinichi asked. Why did he feel the need to ask a stupid question like that right now? The girl laughed.

"We'll kill you." She said very seriously. She sounded infuriated. "But!" She said happily again. "That's impossible! The dark barrier surrounds the whole castle." She laughed. She clapped her hands. "Well you've only spent one day here and you have nine more to go! Good luck!" She said and they suddenly disappeared. Confused, Shinichi let out a frustrated sound and they began to walk to the door.

"What are you doing? She said there's no way we'll be able to leave." Kaito said tugging his coat back on. Shinichi released Kaito's arm and placed his hands on the magicians' shoulders.

"Look. This is ridiculous, but I can't just ignore what my eyes saw." He began his voice serious. "I'm just trying something out okay. I have no idea what's going to happen so don't worry. I'm not going to leave you." He said and Kaito gave him a nonplussed look but nodded. He knew more about this than Shinichi did. Why was he acting like the hero right now? He picked up the nearest object which was a coat rack and threw it at the door. Darkness enveloped it and it was gone. "And now we run." Kaito said and Shinichi looked at him confused as he heard a crash from upstairs.

"What-" Shinichi had no time to ask before Kaito caught his arm and they ran out of the hall and through a door.

The once, cold hall of the outer castle was pitch black. The arches covered in a black ink. Only the inner courtyard was visible to their left unlike last time when it had been to the right. It made sense. They had gone through a door on the right this time.

"I wonder why they didn't close off the courtyard." Kaito asked but had no time for an answer as something slammed against the door to the outer hall. Shinichi grabbed his hand and off they ran, across the courtyard and into another door.

A/N: So, wow. I finished this faster than I thought I would. I really like how this has turned out so far. And yes, I know that this chapter is shorter. There's like, a lot of foreshadowing in this chapter. So much foreshadowing. I'll start typing up the next chapter, but I'm not sure when I'll have it up. I have time tomorrow and the next, so I may go to the library and finish typing. I'm not sure if I should put a comment limit on this. If you guys seem to like it enough I might. Only because I'm trying to promote my name as a writer. I'll have more about that if I decide. Please review anyway, I love hearing from you guys!


	3. Day Two: Demons

A/N: Happy Reading! Updates at the end of the chapter.

Day Two: Demons

Kaito turned the corner pulling Shinichi along by the arm as they tried to avoid another demon. This one was fast, small and looked something like a young child. The little female, or what it looked like, was wearing a bow in blonde hair that reached to its shoulders and was wearing a dirtied pale yellow dress that reached its knees. It had honestly looked like a little girl from behind when they had come upon it. After losing the other demons in a game of chase, they had wandered the castle in order to find a safe place to stay. They had found her standing in the meeting hall. She had been standing at the other side of the ling table facing a fireplace that wasnt lit and warming her hands. Shinichi had wanted to make sure she was okay and no matter what Kaito told him, Kaito knew something was wrong after all, Shinichi still walked up and ended up being seen by the creature. They barely made it out of the room alive.

The demon's face was contorted and it had pointed ears. The thing was wailing as it raced after the two with a piercing cry that nearly made their ears bleed. Shinichi was about to faint from the pressure of the sound when Kaito looked back to check on the detective again.

"Th-That thing looks like a little girl!" Shinichi yelled.

"It's not! Keep running!" Kaito said as he turned another corner and crashed through a swinging door.

The demon smashed through the door. Its claw like hands raking at anything in its path. They streaked past a clock and Kairo caught a passing glance that he saw as '12:05 AM'. So It was the next day. They only had nine days left. "We need to find the celar." Kaito called behind her as they ran down a flight of stairs. Shinichi looked up at him with confused eyes. "Why a cellar? Would they even have one in a castle?" She asked and Kaito jumped the last three stairs as the demon let out another piercing screech.

Shinichi was beginning to slow down. He wasn't used to this kind of exertion and Haibara had told him he shouldn't be running like this. But that didnt matter now. Not when he was caught in something worse than a murder case. They needed to get somewhere safe. He needed to rest, eat something, and for once in his recent teenage life he was hungry. He was so focused on putting one foot in front of the other that he missed what Kaito had just shouted out.

"What?" He called back. There was another piercing screech that cut Kaito off. The magician glared back at it, the expression foreign on his face before he tried again.

"The cellar has water and water leads to an outlet." He said, turning another corner.

At that moment Shinichi tripped and went tumbling to the ground. His hand slipped from Kaito's tight grasp and in a twist of limbs the demon caught him.

"Shinichi!" Kaito called out to him, repeating his name when there wasn't an answer right away, but the detective seldom heard the voice over the demons screeching as it tried to tear his skin from his body.

There was pain. His arm that shielded his face was caught in the demons attack, but after a struggle with it, it screeched again and stopped. With his mind fuzzy with panic, Shinichi flipped over and looked up in time to see Kaito shoot the demon repeatedly with something. A gun? Too bulky. The shape seemed familiar, but he hadn't the time to inspect it further before the jolt in his arm had him gritting his teeth in pain. His forehead pressed to the floor as he pressed his hand to the wound on his arm. It wasn't that bad really. There was skin falling from his arm and blood pouring from the wound, but at least it was fixable. Hell, it was a _lot_ better than dying. He heard Kaito call his name again and his head snapped up to find Kaito leaning over him. A glance around the magician told the detective that the demon was dead.

"You killed it?" Shinichi rasped, panting from keeping his cries of pain at bay. Kaito frowned and promoted Shinichi to show his arm.

"This looks bad. If we don't stitch and wrap it, it could get infected before we get out of here." Kaito explained easily avoiding the question. Shinichi thought it was odd, but everything seemed odd to him right now. He couldn't seem to remember what normal really was.

"We can see if they have anything in the kitchen. Your mother should be there too." Shinichi said and Kaito frowned as he was reminded of his mother.

"Right."Kaito muttered as he took off one of his three jackets and carefully put the skin back where it should've been before pressing the jacket to the would. Shinichi choked on a gasp and groaned. "Can you make it to the kitchen? We have to find a floor plan somehow." Kaito explained. "Running around like this isn't helping us." Shinichi nodded as he stood on shaky feet. Kaito helped him up, putting an arm underneath him to guide him to the next room.

As soon as they had went through the first hallway, the castle seemed to join together. All the litter halls became inner halls. There no longer was a garden. Or, if there was,they couldn't find it anymore. Instead, they were stuck with long hallways and endless empty rooms. They hadn't yet made it to the second floor. After exiting the main foyer, they couldn't find any other stairs. Shinichi didn't look like he was in any condition to go anywhere far.

Kaito knew at some point he was going to give himself away to being Kaitou KID. It was inevitable at that point. Black magic and himself never mixed, but with Kaitou KID,it never seemed to leave. He had to fight magic with magic at this point. Although, he didn't see himself winning against real magic.

Every time they killed a demon, there seemed to be a period where they could rest. Kaito wasn't sure how long that period lasted but five minutes seemed like a safe bet. So, without looking back at the dead creature, Kaito helped Shinichi limp into one of the empty rooms they had had yet to pass, however when he opened the door, the kitchen lay in front of him. Kaito's mother lay unconscious in a chair in the corner of the room.

"Mom!" Kaito yelled as he helped Shinichi sit up on the counter. Once Shinichi was stable he ran over to his mother and fell to his knees next to her. "Mom? Wake up its Kaito, Mom!" He called and was startled backwards when she suddenly lunged forward. When she finally realized who it was, she came to a halt, a knife she had been holding was mere centimeters from his face.

"Kaito!" She said and immediately dropped the knife to scoop him up in a hug. However, when she went to hug him, her hands and body went straight through. He gasped, looking at himself then at her. Mild confusion crinkled his face before he paled and began to panic.

"Mom?" He choked out. There was a small feminine. chuckle behind him and Shinichi gave a shout before Kaito jerked around, his card gun appearing from under his coat.

The woman who had chuckled was angelica, though she wasn't wearing a maids outfit anymore. She had on a long green kimono, something like a wedding dress, but it was covered in tears and dirt.

"Damn it, what did you do to her?" He demanded cocking the barrel of his gun. Angelica looked at him with a small smile.

"Nothing. It seems like the two masters don't want her in the game." She explained and Kaito grit his teeth so hard he could taste blood.

"Did they kill her?" He asked through his teeth. He had never been so mad. If they had...

"No no, of course not. She's not in the game after all." The maid said looking behind Kaito to Chikage who was sitting up on the chair again. "They have kept her out of this reality. You were put here, where the light does not touch. She remains in the original castle, free from harm." Angelica explained. Kaito seemed to relax a bit, but didn't lower his gun.

"Who are you?" He asked instead. Angelica looked down at herself and chuckled before looking at him skeptically.

"My name is Angelica. Who do you _think_ I am?" She said as if it were obvious. Shinichi gave a weak chuckle from across the room and the two conversing turned to acknowledge him.

"You're a plant demon right? Angelica is a plant that grows by water." He said weakly and She smiled at him.

"Correct." She said and moved barely an inch before an ace went whizzing past her head. It bounced off the stone wall, leaving a chip in the rock as it went. "Now now," She said turning to Kaito. "What ever was that for?" She asked. Kaito gave her a hard stare, but kept the glare from his face.

"You know what." He said calmly. She chuckled again, the smile never leaving her face.

"Do I look like I came here to eat you two?" She said and opened her arms slowly. She looked perfectly human. The only thing out of place was her dirty kimono. "I'm here to help you boys." She continued on when Kaito said nothing. "The three of us: Murasaki, Kojima and I are here to protect the masters of the castle. The living ones." She corrected when Kaito's gaze hardened.

Still, Kaito turned to his mother, who was watching intently and looked up at her son sadly.

"I'm so sorry Kaito." She whispered before Kaito kneeled next to her again.

"Don't worry about us mom, just go find somewhere to rest. You can't leave either right?" To the question she nodded. "Alright. We'll pick you up in nine days. We're going to get out of here." He said and Shinichi let out a groan.

"Kaito..." He panted slumping down on the table. Kaito turned, a startled look on his face that turned to horror when he saw how soaked the jacket was that he had given him. "Running out of time... The demons..." Was all he could manage. Kaito cursed at his stupidity and launched himself into the task of searching for the first aid kit.

"If you're looking to patch the wound, you should go to the infirmary." Angelica said and Kaito turned around, panic in his eyes. "Its bit too far from here. Down the hall, turn right got to the end again, and under the stairs is the door to the infirmary." She said and Kaito glanced over at Shinichi, who couldn't even sit up at that point. Angelica waved him off. "Go ahead. I'll watch him for you." She said. Her words weren't very reassuring, but he needed to get that kit. At least, something to wrap it in.

So, with one agonized look at his meitantei, Kaito bolted out the door and made a break for the infirmary. As soon as he was out the door, another demon was at his heels. This one was the same as the first: Red, leathery hide; Jagged teeth; and red beady eyes. Kaito aimed his gun and shot, but the demon just kept coming. Its hide deflected the card with ease, not even breaking its stride. Giving a dismayed whimper, Kaito turned and focused all his attention on running.

Turning the corner, Kaito slid and pushed off the opposite wall to propel himself down the hall. The push nearly knocked him off his feet, but he managed to catch himself as he heard the monster smash into the wall behind him. These demons weren't good at turning he had found out. So, spotting the stairs, he ran past them and swung himself into the infirmary. It was fairly large, with gernies lined up and medicine cabinets lines in between every two beds.

Running inside, Kaito had enough time to grab a medicine bag from next to the door and it down the center of the room. He ran to the end, hoping that it would give him enough time to grab supplies before the monster came into the room. He threw the first door to a cabinet open and paled. Nothing was labeled. He didn't know what was what. So he started dumping vials, capped needles, and gauze into the bag. And moved onto the drawers. That was when the monster barges through the door, breaking the door off at the hinges. He dumped tape, braces and larger wraps into the bag before snapping it closed and hugging it to his chest so he could turn and make it out of the room. Again, he dove, landing on his side and hearing the demon crash into the wall. Getting up, still shocked from his impact with the ground, he ran. He nearly crashed into one of the beds before running out of the room.

There had to be a way to kill this thing. Maybe Angelica would know? No, he couldn't rely on a demon. Not even for something like this. He couldn't rely on something from Akako's world. He wouldn't deny its existence, but he would rely on it for help.

Turning the corner, he heard the demon crash out of the room and nearly jumped out of his skin when he ran straight into the butler. What was his name? He didn't have time to remember or acknowledge his change in attire like Angelica before he veered around him and took the last few sprinting steps into the kitchen.

When he entered, Angelica was leaning over Shinichi and wiping his forehead with a cloth.

"Shin-Chan..." He panted, utterly wiped from all the running that he had been doing. Hurrying over, he put the bag on the counter and looked at Angelica with panic in his eyes. "There's another demon outside. We have to get him somewhere safe." He pleaded, but when he looked at the female demon, she was frowning.

"We can't move him right now. We'll be fine here." She said and Kaito was about to argue when she turned to him. "That specific breed of demon can't turn corners. You'll be fine as long as you stay in a room that isn't at the end of a hall or accessible to the demon." She explained. Kaito wanted to scowl at her, tell her that he didn't need her help, but he stopped himself. If she was really against them, if she wanted to hurt them, then she would have already. Hell, he had already left Shinichi with her once. He was still alive, so…

"Alright." Kaito said and took out the supplies that he needed before hurrying over to Shinichi. "Shin, can you sit up for me?" He asked softly. Shinichi was in a poor state. He was incredibly pale, two shades lighter than he should have been and his eyes were lulling closed. Though he looked like he was on deaths bed, he nodded and propped himself up on his good arm before leaning back against the wall. "Good. Okay. Let me see your arm." He said gently taking the sweatshirt from him. Shinichi whimpered, but didn't pull away. The skin was still hanging off, bleeding less now, but still needed stitches.

Gritting his teeth, Kaito pressed the sweatshirt back on and grabbed the needle and some thread. Cutting and tying it off through the needle, he removed the sweatshirt again and dropped it on the floor.

"I need to clean it Shinichi, this is going to hurt." He warned as he placed the needle on a sterile cloth and grabbed some peroxide. Pulling the top off, he grabbed another cloth from the bag and wet the rag with the peroxide before wiping the blood away. More blood pooled over the wound and fell where he had cleaned and he cursed. "I'm sorry Shin, but this is going to hurt more than I thought." He warned before grabbing Shinichi's arm and pouring the peroxide over it.

The blood washed away, but Shinichi cried out, his arm instinctively tugging his arm to get away from the pain. Kaito closed an eye, flinching in sympathy but holding onto his arm harder. After the blood washed away, he moved quickly. He put down the bottle and held Shinichi's arm down before picking up the needle again. The first time the needle pierced the skin, shinichi let out a choked sound. The second time he flinched. After the third he didn't have the energy to do anything but twitch his arm. He needed fifteen stitches. The whole time Kaito was stitching him up, Shinichi couldn't help but notice how calm and collected Kaito was. He was stitching up his would like he had done it ten times over. Like he was used to it.

He didnt question it though. He was more concerned about the demon.

"What eill happen to that demon?" Shinichi asked weakly as Kaito pulled the last of his skin closed. Angelica turned to him with amused eyes.

"Should you really be asking questions in your state?" She asked the wounded detective a very honest question, but Shinichi only frowned back at her. With a sigh, she turned away from the two teens. "It will eventually go back to its masters who will send out another demon." She explained with an air of disconcert. Both teens didn't like the tone she used, but being a demon, Kaito expected nothing less of her.

Kaito was wiping off Shinichi's stitched wound when Kojima and Murasaki came waltzing in the back door of the kitchen. Kojima was wearing a bright red summer Kimono with his spectacles hanging from a string around his neck. His eyes were a chilling pink colour. Murasaki was wearing a lavender coloured winter kimono everything else was the same for her. They both looked furious when they entered the room.

"Angel, we took care of the demon, but it looks like Suigetsu and Akane have seen us move." Kojima stated. Kaito spared them a glance, but was busy wrapping Shinichi's arm in gauze to pay too much attention. "We need to lie low for a while." He continued. That part piqued his interest.

"Is there somewhere we can go to stay safe for a while?" He asked turning to them; however, when he turned all three demons were gone. Cursing he turned back to Shinichi and tied off his wrap. "We need to get moving. If they got rid of the demon like he said, we've only got five minutes to move before another comes." He said looking up at Shinichi. He looked a little better, but he was in no condition to run.

"Back pocket..." Shinichi said suddenly. Kaito blinked in surprise and looked in his own back pockets. "No, mine... You idiot." He continued and Kaito urged Shinichi onto his side so he could fish through his back pocket. A light blush covered his face when Shinichi shuddered. He ended up pulling out a hard candy from his back pocket and handing it to its owner. Shinichi unwrapped it with some difficulty before popping it in his mouth. The taste of sweets was still revolting, but he needed them. He couldn't afford to pass out here. Not now. "What time is it?" He rasped as he slowly bent forward on the counter. Kaito looked at his watch and sighed.

"Half past twelve." He said as he continued to pack up the supplies. Shinichi nodded. "Okay, we need to grab food and go back to the infirmary. There isn't enough supplies in that bag and we can't run back and forth." He explained. Kaito seemed reluctant to let Shinichi move, but continued to pack the supplies as Shinichi looked in the fridge and cabinets. "Only bottled water and crackers..." Shinichi grunted as he pulled down two boxes of crackers. "They might as well just starve us." He spit out while looking around for a bag. Kaito hummed as he snapped the bag closed.

"We can grab more bags from the infirmary. I saw back packs in there too. Not like, our school bags, but sacks with straps." Kaito told the detective as they hurried out of the room.

"That's fine. I'll grab the bags and run back here to fill as much as I can." He huffed as they ran down the hall. The hard candy clicked against his teeth as he tried to talk. "Ill meet you at the top of the stairs as soon as I'm done." He said as they entered the infirmary. "If any demons show up, meet up in the nearest room." He called as Kaito kept running to the back of the room.

"Sure thing!" Kaito yelled back as Shinichi grabbed a few bags from the pile and retraced his steps.

Shinichi's arm was throbbing, nearly numb with pain, and he was dizzy from blood loss. He needed to eat something else other than crackers to gain it back quicker. His head was swimming, but Shinichi kept on going. He dumped the food and water he had in his hands inside one of the bags on his way to the kitchen again and swung it onto his back.

The next demon didn't come until they had met at the top of the stairs. It was a cat hybrid-type demon. It had two heads, a slimy hide and spiked tail. Its eyes were gone, leaving a hollow skull, yet it could see them perfectly as it chased them down. Kaito had pulled out his card gun, shooting at it, but the creature merely jumped past the card and leapt for them.

"Over here!" Shinichi said pulling Kaito into a room. The door slammed behind them and the demon hit the door. It nearly broke through, but a moment later all was quiet. Kaito and Shinichi looked at each other, panting before collapsing against each other. "We can't keep doing this." Shinichi panted. Kaito nodded against his head.

"Maybe we can find some way of ending this for good?" Kaito questioned. Shinichi leaned forward taking Kaito with him who didn't move even though he was mildly uncomfortable.

"We need to look around more, but with all of the demons chasing us…" Shinichi sighed, looking around the mostly empty room. In the corner there was a bed and he closed his eyes. He would give anything to lay down right now, but they didn't have time. "If we can get back to that office, we might find something." He said and took water out of his bag. Taking a sip, he jumped and nearly choked on his water when the demon crashed against the door again. This time, the door cracked under the weight. "First we need to find a way to kill this thing." He said, cringing at the words on his tongue. He never thought he'd have to say something like that. Ever. Kaito noticed this and nudged him with his shoulder.

"Hey, we'll deal with it when we get there. First, let's retrace our steps. It might help us find the office faster." He offered and Shinichi sighed before nodding. He quickly put his water away before singing the bag onto his back and standing. Just then, the demon crashed through the door sending wood flying all over. As if on cue, the two teens launched themselves over the demon and out the door.

Later in the day, the two teens had managed to find an outer hall. It was odd. The halls they had run through before were nothing like they were when they retracted their steps. It was as if the castle itself were changing. Kaito stopped Shinichi as they ran through the hall and looked over at the garden. A demon was currently chasing them, but had to make its way through the door in order to continue.

"Hold on. I wanna try something." He said and though Shinichi looked at him incredulously, he stopped to turn to him. Kaito nodded, swallowing before turning to the garden and stepping off the stone and onto the grass. When he stepped through his body was bathed in light and he felt warmth cover his body as the sun shone down on him. He had missed the sun so much. He couldn't stop his throat from closing as he turned to Shinichi with a broad smile. "Come on." He said holding out a hand. Shinichi hesitated and the door opened on the other side of the hall to show a bug demon, something like a beetle, fly through the door jam and towards Shinichi. When Kaito reached out and pulled his hand. Shinichi gasped and tumbled out into the garden onto the soft grass. When he looked up the demon was coming right for them.

A/N: wow, yeah I wasn't expecting this to take so long. I had a bit of writers block. My boss gave me four days off in a row, so I had extra time to work on it. Next chapter should get a bit more into Shinichi and Kaito's relationship. Please look forward to it! Also, I've put a review limit on these chapters starting with this chapter.

I need five reviews for the next post. This story seems really popular, so it shouldn't be that hard. You guys can also review more than once on guest, but know that if I only get one review from an actual writer on here, then I'll be incredibly sad. Reviewing makes me so happy and motivated to write, so please, review even if just to make me happy.


	4. Day Three: Discovery

A/N: I started this the same day. I really feel like I'm on a roll with this story! And thanks for getting the reviews in so fast! Enjoy!

Day Three: Discovery

"Shinichi, this way." Kaito whispered. Shinichi, who was ducking out of the office, looked over at Kaito with an ever serious look before shuffling over. Throughout the night, after their most recent discovery, the two teens had been running back and forth between the garden and various rooms.

The garden, which seemed odd in the first place, had kept them safe from demon attacks. They didn't know if it was a safe haven from the demons. They didn't know if the two necromancers had put it there on purpose. What they did know, was that they had a safe place to stay, but now, they needed to make sure they could keep themselves fed and alive. Food, places to sleep, and keeping warm were all things that needed to be taken care of before they grew too weak to do anything. They had managed to get most things situated over the night. It was around noon by the time they were ready to set out again. Both were tired from over exertion. More than likely, all of the other people that came into this 'game' were stuck not know that this place was the safe haven from the demons. That was probably how they all managed to die. They hadn't stumbled on any other people in the castle. Assuming was the only thing that they could do right now.

Currently, they were back tracking through the castle to the garden from their little escape to the office. Shinichi had suggested they go and see if they could find a map. Surely if they had a moving castle, they had a moving map. I mean, this wasn't some completely magical world or anything, but from what Shinichi had seen, he wasn't so sure anymore.

"Let's go, we've got two minutes left." Kaito urged as they met each other in front of the stairs. Time was short in this setting and it was times like these that Kaito was thankful that his mother bought him expensive things like a stop watch built into an actual watch for his birthday. Together, they both slid down the railings. Sure, it was childish, but in order to get back to the garden, they needed to cut time in any way they could. "Did you find it?" Kaito asked as they ran for the door to the outer hall. Shinichi shook his head.

"I tore every book off the shelf and shook each one out. I didn't have enough time to go through the desk." He explained as they burst through the door. Jumping into the garden they both tumbled onto the grass, nearly hitting a patch of lilies.

Just as their backs hit the grass, a large dog demon burst through the door and ran right for them. Its front body was split in half showing innards that were rotted and some even missing. Both Kaito and Shinichi watched as the demon sprinted right for them. The two sides of its body seemed to come together in a biting motion repeatedly, as if the entire thing would eat them in one gulp. Just as it took a leap right for them, its body was shredded apart and turned into shining dust that fell to the ground and turned into nothing.

"Just like all the other times too." Shinichi said shifting on the ground. Kaito nodded next to him and pulled himself to his feet.

"Yeah." He breathed and leaned against the wall. He looked around at the miscellaneous flowers before sighing and wiping the sweat from his brow. "We have some time before we can set out again. Do you want to take a break?" He asked the shorter teen. Shinichi laid back down causing his empty back pack to flatten beneath him.

"Yeah." Shinichi responded with a breathy voice.

The garden they lay in was quite beautiful. Every time Shinichi took another look, he found a new type of flower. It wasn't like the garden changed. No, unlike the castle, the garden staid the same, untouched by black magic. But, with the short time that they had been in the garden, there was always something knew to find. It reminded Shinichi of someone he knew. A fleeting thought across his mind, but it made him scowl in surprise and run his hand through his hair to get rid of the thought. Why would he think of the thief at a time like this?

"The two of you are back so soon?" Came a high soft voice. Both boys didn't have to shift their gaze to know it was one of the three helpers. Kaito rested his head on the stone of the castle wall and finally turned after a moment. Angelica, the female demon in green, was behind them. She pet some flowers on her way by and they seemed to follow her fingers as they dropped to her side. Kaito didn't even question why they would. Or why she was there. This was where the three fauna demons staid while they weren't tending to the castle: cleaning up dead demon carcasses, keeping the fridge stocked with food, and making sure that the bathrooms were stocked with toiletries.

"We're taking a break. Besides, we have food and water." He turned and pulled out a colorful handkerchief from one of his various pockets. The woman merely nodded. They had met her here before. The first time they had been running from the beetle demon and they had stepped over the threshold the three colorful demons from the kitchen had been standing in the center of the garden talking. It had to have been a trick of the eye. Kaito still couldn't understand how he hadn't _seen _them before he turned around with Shinichi, yet there they had been: standing and glancing over at them in surprise. "Where are the other two?" Kaito asked with mild interest. Usually, when they would come back, they were standing and tending to the garden. Angelica hummed in amusement, clearly amused by something that Kaito had said, but not voicing her interest.

"They are tending to the larger garden and field. We do not merely tend to Eden after all." She stated in a formal voice. Kaito nodded slowly. "I was merely checking up on you two before continuing on with my duties. We _are _here to help you, you know." She said looking pointedly at Shinichi who had yelled his fool head off when he had seen them the first time. Shinichi just huffed and refused to look at her.

"Thanks for the concern. We're taking a rest now, so you don't have to worry about us." Shinichi said offhandedly. Kaito sent him a slightly surprised glance, not expecting the tone of voice, but not disagreeing with him. Angelica gave an irritated huff before she sighed and slowly faded away in wisps of smoke. Kaito walked further into the garden and sat down on the mattress they had managed to bring back. It was on the only paved part of the garden.

"How are demons even allowed in a garden called Eden anyway?" Kaito asked. Especially when other demons couldn't enter.

"I don't know, I'm just glad they're on our side." Shinichi said, suddenly sitting next to him. Kaito turned a shocked at how he had snuck up on him without Kaito noticing, but summed it up to the fact he felt comfortable around him.

They sat there for a while trying to collect themselves and calm their adrenaline levels. Shinichi sighed, slumping forward and leaning on his legs. He cringed when it stressed his stitches. Kaito noticed and his brows pulled together in a worried look.

"Here. Let me see your arm." Kaito prompted softly as he reached for Shinichi's arm. Shinichi leaned back and placed his arm carefully in Kaito's hand. "I'm sorry I couldn't find any pain killers for you." Kaito apologized. Shinichi shook his head.

"I would just work it off with all the running." Shinichi began and continued when Kaito tried to cut him off. "And you're not leaving me here." He said with a determined look.

"I can do all of this myself Shinichi." Kaito argued. They had fought like this the night before when they decided that the garden was safe enough to sleep in. "I'm able to sneak around and memorize the way through every hall. The halls change, but only going in one direction. You've noticed right? Every time we've gone to the kitchen. It was always the same way there. Even though it was a different way back, the way back never changed again. Plus I have ways of protecting myself. I have my card gun, and I can run farther and faster than you can." He pointed out. Shinichi gritted his teeth, knowing Kaito was right, but not wanting Kaito to go by himself. "You're injured and can't run for long. Not since you ch-" Kaito had gotten so caught up in keeping Shinichi here, safe, that he had slipped. There was no way to fix that slip up and by the confused and shocked look on the other teens face Shinichi knew that too.

"Not since I what? Kaito, you don't know anything about me. How do you know about why I can't run?" He asked, slightly afraid but extremely suspicious. Kaito swallowed and looked down guiltily. Kaito knew it was coming. He couldn't have prevented it. Not if he wanted to keep Shinichi safe. He just hadn't expected to tell Shinichi until later in their 'game'.

"I know about you Shinichi, about Conan, everything that happened with the black order." Kaito confessed slowly. Shinichi's face darkened.

"How do you know about all this?" He asked tensely. His body was taught with anger, ready to do whatever he needed to protect himself. This was what Shinichi had feared. Over the last night he'd had a lot of time to think. The card gun. The way the magician moved. The magic. Sure, saying he wanted to be better than Kaitou KID had thrown him for a loop, but he wasn't a teen age detective for his looks. "Who are you Kaito?" He asked before Kaito could respond. "That card gun, the way you tended to my wound. You aren't even surprised by all of this." Shinichi said gesturing to the garden and castle with his good arm. Kaito gently placed Shinichi's inured arm on the detectives lap before he ducked his head down.

"You were bound to find out anyway." He said and felt his moon light magicians' grin tugging at his lips, but he wouldn't let himself be pulled into another mask. Not for Shinichi, who had been through so much. "We have lots of fun together Meitantei." He said unsure and a bit sad, looking up and seeing Shinichi's shocked face. "I'm Kaitou KID, it's nice to finally meet you outside of a heist meitantei." He formally introduced in a tired unsure voice. Shinichi was still for a breath before he visibly relaxed. Sure, he hadn't expected Kaito KID, but at least the thief wouldn't try and kill him along with this castle.

"Well, that wasn't what I was expecting, but it's not a bad thing. We could definitely use all the tricks up your sleeve." He said and Kaito looked at him sadly.

"I didn't bring any with me. I only have a dove and the small tricks. No smoke bombs or traps." He explained as he collected himself.

Kaito had thought Shinichi would tie him up and leave him bound in the garden. He _was_ on the opposite side of the law after all. Although, here, there was no law, only survival. Shinichi on the other hand was just thankful that Kaito wasn't part of the black order. He sighed. Of course Kaito wouldn't have any special tricks on him. It wasn't like he was suited up for a heist after all. Well, at least Shinichi knew that he could trust Kaito with more tasks. Especially with magic. Sure, he might not know _real_ magic, but he knew a lot more than Shinichi did.

"Let me see your arm." Kaito said suddenly. Shinichi had to turn his thoughts around at the sudden shift in conversation before he lifted his arm again, wondering if the thief had actually inspected it the first time.

"Do you get injured a lot on heists?" Shinichi asked. The words fell from his mouth before he could catch them and he regretted it the second they left his mouth. Kaito became tense while he began looking at the stitches in Shinichi's arm.

It was a while before he spoke.

"Yes." He said on a breath out. It sounded much like a sigh, but not an uncomfortable one. He brushed his fingers over a tender area on Shinichi's arm before continuing. Shinichi flinched. "There's another organization, believe it or not, that wants what I'm trying to find." He said. Shinichi looked up at him with surprise. Kaito met his eyes with an amused smile. "What? You didn't think I just did this for the fame did you?" Shinichi gave him an unamused glare at that.

"This isn't really the right type of fame KID." Shinichi said. Kaito flinched and covered it up by feigning heart ach. He clutched his chest with the hand that wasn't holding up Shinichi's arm and gave a shocked look.

"I'm hurt Shin-Chan. After knowing my real name, you still call me KID." He said with a pout. Shinichi rolled his eyes and pulled his arm away.

"Well, I've known you longer as Kaitou KID. It would be odd not calling you that." Shinichi said. Kaito crossed his arms and made an even deeper pout.

"But I gave you permission to call me Kaito." He brooded and Shinichi ignored him and made a smooth change of the subject.

"Is it infected? It's throbbing more than earlier." He asked. Kaito looked like he didn't want to drop the subject, but his concern for his meitantei was more important than what his meitantei was calling him.

"No, it's probably from moving around so much. That's why I'm saying you should stay here and take it easy." He prompted. Shinichi looked down at his reddened wound and thought.

If he was with Kaitou KID, then he probably didn't have anything to worry about. Kaito could take care of himself, even in dangerous situations, but Shinichi wondered if it was alright to let him go out there by himself. This wasn't an ordinary situation though , and Kaito didn't have anything but his card gun to fend off the creatures.

"How about we get some sleep before we go back out?" Shinichi asked. Kaito looked like he didn't want to end the conversation now, but didn't say anything more about it.

"What, no more questions for me?" He asked. Shinichi looked away for a moment, unsure if he wanted to know any more about the thief or not but settled his eyes back on Kaito with a determined look in his eye.

"Why are you protecting me if you know I'm going to arrest you when we get out of here?" He questioned. "You had to know that you'd give up your identity as Kaitou KID at some point during all this." He clarified. Kaito hummed and looked down at his hands that were clasped loosely together.

"Well first of all, you know my policy as KID. No one on a heist gets hurt." He paused. "That applies to my entire life. I'm pretty much the same in and off the stage. It's a way of life to any _real_ magician." He rolled his thumbs around each other once, twice, before continuing. "I didn't know what you would do to me if you found out. I was honestly thinking you'd tie me up and leave me in Eden while you figured all of this out yourself, but this, what's happening now, has lead me to believe that you won't arrest me." Shinichi opened his mouth to protest because there was no way to tell if he really _was _going to arrest the magician before Kaito cut him off to continue. "This, what I am off stage, is my personal life. Just like your detective work and your relationship with Mouri-san. You don't mix her up with your work." He spoke slowly, as if unsure of his own words. "You want to catch me in the act. You look forward to our games, just like I look forward to seeing you at my heists. Beating me outside the game doesn't seem like a fair win." He explained as he glanced back up at Shinichi who was no longer looking at the magician.

"You're right." Shinichi confessed. "It wouldn't feel right." He explained. "Like I cheated at it." He elaborated. Kaito hummed in agreement next to him and laid back on the bed. Another question popped into his head just then. "Why are you so interested in me anyway? I didn't tell anyone about my relationship to the black order, so I don't see how you could have figured it out." He asked. Kaito blushed then, turning onto his side to hide his face.

"I may or may not have bugged your house..." He mumbled so quietly that Shinichi barely heard. A blush immediately appeared on Shinichi's face as well and he turned away from Kaito.

'Why would you do that?' Shinichi thought to himself.

"I shouldn't be surprised, it's not the first time you've done something illegal, but..." He said refusing to continue. If Kaito happened to turn on his ears at the wrong time... Shinichi felt dirty now. Hopefully Kaito hadn't listened in on the times when Shinichi got more familiar with his hand.

"I-I did it because I worry about my favorite tantei! T-that's all!" Kaito stuttered. Sure, he had been worried about Shinichi at first. Especially when his teen self had gone missing and he had the chibi tantei in his place. But when Shinichi came back in his teen body... 'No, no, no! Don't go there. Not right now.' Kaito thought to himself. Shinichi had stopped blushing but was still facing away as he sat on the bed.

"After is went missing?" He asked. Kaito nodded against the bed. Shinichi felt kind of happy that someone was worried about him. Someone other than Ran. He swallowed and laid down, sharing the only bed they had found, on different ends of the small bed. "You're really odd. It's kind of creepy, but you're right. I'm not going to arrest you." He said finally. Kaito gave a relieved sigh and shifted on the bed. They both faced away from each other.

"We'll sleep for a while, then empty the bags, eat and go get more rations before we try looking in the office again. There's gotta be something there." Kaito offered. Shinichi gave a noise of agreement before closing his eyes.

A/N: Wow, but I'm so glad you all reviewed! I'm sorry this was a bit shorter than the last. I meant for it to be at least eight pages, but I ended up being a page and a half short.

Altogether with the last reviews you guys sent me: 15 reviews needed to continue.

I hope you guys like it enough to tell me how much you enjoyed it! Reviews feed my motivation on my story, so just a word means the world to me!


	5. Day Four: Relevation

A/N: Hello everyone~ Sadly, this got deleted the first time I tried to write it. I ended up saving over the file on my phone, which I couldn't fix with ctrl+Alt+Delete. It won't be as great as the first one I wrote, but I'll try and make up for it with content. Also, there's an important note at the end of this chapter. Enjoy!

Day Four: Revelation

Shinichi was always the first one to wake up in the morning, even when he was young and still lived with his parents. Because of this, it was no wonder he had woken up before Kaito even when they were forced to play this stupid game. It wasn't even a surprise to him, that they had shifted closer together while they slept. After all the years he spent as Conan, he'd developed restless sleeping habits and tossed every which way. One morning he had even woken up on the floor. So no, being close to KID in his sleep wasn't surprising at all.

What _was _shocking was that when he woke from the depths of slumber, he was feeling warmer than when he had closed his eyes, and there was a pleasant weight on his chest, which was revealed to be a sleeping thief when he opened his eyes. He hadn't even woken up to notice that they had moved closer. Looking down, he noticed that Kaito was breathing slowly, he could feel every exhale against his own neck, and their legs were tangled.

How come Shinichi hadn't noticed? After everything that happened with the Black Organization, he hadn't been able to rest well at night, and he often had nightmares that startled him awake. This meant he tossed and turned most of the time as he struggled with the demons in his dreams.

He also wasn't the type of person who liked to cuddle. He had tried to, back when he first returned to his original body. Ran had finally come over after everything and forgiven him for all that he had confessed to her, and they had started dating not too long after that. He hadn't exactly loved the cuddling part of their relationship, but he couldn't deny that he'd had feelings for Ran once upon a time. After being Conan for as long as he had been his feelings for her had changed, he now felt that he'd known her on a different level: as a sister. He didn't _love her _like a lover anymore. That singular experience with Ran hadn't left a big impression and because of that, he really didn't have any experience with cuddling. Consequently, he didn't think he would enjoy it with anyone else.

So, why did he find himself settling back down onto the bed? Why were his eyes sliding closed again as a sigh fell from his lips? Before he could even speculate at the answers, his mind wandered off once more and dreams overtook him again.

It was Kaito that woke up next, his mind foggy and his body warm. Smiling to himself and curling farther into his heated bed, he didn't realize what was happening until he felt his bed rising and falling underneath him. Mild panic spiked in his sleep hazed brain as his eyes snapped open and he jumped away from the detective underneath him with an embarrassed blush.

'_I slept on a detective.'_ He thought and put a hand on his hammering chest while trying to calm his heart. He hadn't expected to wake up like that. Why hadn't Shinichi woken up and moved from under him? He knew Shinichi always woken up first. How had they even moved closer like that? Kaito refused to cuddle with people, because of his job as Kaitou KID, let alone sleep that close with someone. He knew that Shinichi fussed around in his sleep, so waking up to that was beyond a surprise.

As he tried to collect his thoughts, because damn it he couldn't understand why he _liked _cuddling with the other teen, Shinichi shifted in his sleep. This caused Kaito to squeak and turn away so he could scurry over to the ration bag and rummage through it. Poker face, poker face, what was that again? Never mind, forget the poker face. Find food. _Food._

"Kaito?" Shinichi's voice, rough from sleep, called out to Kaito. Kaito's stomach fluttered suddenly and he frowned.

'Ignore it.' Kaito thought. He had better things to do like find _food_.

"Over here Shin-chan." He called back in a surprisingly normal voice. He wasn't so thankful for his poker face more than right at that moment. Could Lady luck please explain this light twisting feeling in his stomach? There was more shuffling behind him as he pulled out two waters and two sleeves of crackers.

"What are you doing?" Shinichi asked while rubbing his face. Kaito turned just as he ran his hands through his bed head and Kaito felt the fluttering grow stronger. Perhaps he was getting sick? Shinichi looked almost exactly like the magician, but his eyes were still watery with sleep. The feeling in his gut grew stronger and he had to look away.

"Just grabbing some food. You want some right?" He had managed to keep his voice steady that time. Lucky him. Shinichi simply grunted and a water and cracker sleeve were tossed onto the bed next to him. "How'd you sleep?" He asked trying to make conversation as they dug into their first meal of the day. The question didn't receive a response however, and when Kaito looked up from his food Shinichi was looking down at his water with a blush over his cheeks. Kaito's own cheeks lit up like christmas lights before he looked back down. "Hey you didn't- I mean, did you wake up earlier?" He asked instead. Shinichi felt himself blush harder before he put the cap back on his water and sat cross legged on the bed.

"Yeah." Was all Shinichi said as he continued to memorize the patterns in the stone at his feet over the side of the bed. Kaito swallowed.

"I'm uh, sorry for that. I didn't mean to…" He tried to explain himself and couldn't find the words. He hadn't meant to sleep on Shinichi. Well yeah, obviously. He'd been unconscious, guys normally didn't end up cuddling in the middle of the night. Now that he was looking back up at Shinichi, he saw the detective shaking his head.

"Don't worry about it. I mean, it's the best I've slept in- _months._" Shinichi said then let out a chuckle. "I guess that's probably odd considering where we are." He continued as Kaito glanced around the garden. They were both silent again as they ate and soon Kaito couldn't the silence.

"So what's the plan for today?" He asked. Shinichi mused as he broke a cracker in half with his mouth before his tongue darted out to catch the piece he had broken. Kaito couldn't stop glancing back to Shinichi's mouth as the detective answered. Keep focused Kuroba.

"Right now we know that the map is somewhere in the study. We can go check there again to see if there's any hidden places that we missed." He asked. "But we also need to pick up more bedding and food before noon. That way we can warm the blankets in what sun we'll have before it starts getting dark." He explained. Kaito hummed in agreement as he took a sip of his water. He was able to focus more on what was happening rather than Shinichi's mouth when they spoke about the mansion. He wanted to stay on the topic.

"I think we should also check up on the second floor more. We haven't checked out the whole place yet. You never know, they may have an armory somewhere in here." He explained and though Shinichi's brows creased in irritation at the thought of _arming themselves_ he nodded in agreement. None of this was right. Killing to live. It was like they were animals, but the things that the two teens were dealing with were anything but human. Not even remotely human.

"Finish eating and we'll head off the the bathroom before going to the rooms and seeing what we can find for bedding." Shinichi prompted and Kaito nodded as he stuffed more crackers into his mouth.

After they had finished eating, Kaito and Shinichi packed up four more bottles of water and two more sleeves of crackers. They most likely wouldn't have time for lunch, so they would have to eat on the run. Empty bags were thrown over each shoulder and across the chest so they didn't fall off while running. Luckily, just before they left, Kojima and Murasaki came waltzing through the barrier with pleased smiles on their faces. The two teens glanced at each other to share a wondering look before looking back at the two demons.

"What's got you two in such a good mood?" Kaito asked as he shifted the food rations on his back. Kojima's eyes settled on the two high schoolers and he smiled even more.

"We just finished the lawn and garden surrounding the estate. Why wouldn't we be happy?" He asked. Murasaki gave a nod in agreement before flopping down on the grass below some Hydrangeas.

"And now we can take care of Eden." Murasaki said petting the bottom of one of the flowers and watching as it followed her fingertips when she pulled him away. The other flowers in the Hydrangea bush shivered happily as if a wind were blowing before settling again. Kaito and Shinichi stared, fascinated, by the other worldly feeling of the garden before they both turned. As they stepped over, a burst of cold air passed over them and they shivered.

"Bathroom?" Kaito asked. Shinichi nodded.

"Bathroom." The detective agreed.

As soon as they had gotten to the bathroom, which was simply a large room with a stone tub, sink and toilet, they stood just inside and glanced at one another.

"How about I stand watch outside this time?" Kaito offered. Shinichi nodded and closed the door when Kaito stepped back out of the door frame. As Kaito took out his card gun, he rolled the kinks out of his shoulders and gave a large sigh. "...hope he doesn't take too long." Kaito said before leaning against the door.

It didn't take that long for Shinichi to rinse his hair in the sink and relieve himself. He was used to getting up and rushing out the door in time for school even after he moved back into the Kudo mansion. Sadly, the time here and the time he spent at the Kudo mansion were two totally different time limits. As he was rinsing his face off a foul smell filled the air that made him pull away from the sink and dry off his face quickly. It was hard trying to keep his stitches from getting wet, but he managed and just before he opened the door to see what exactly the smell was Kaito let out a shrill scream that he had never heard before.

There was a crash against the door then as Kaito let out another scream and Shinichi pulled the door open. Kaito tumbled through the door and in a shred of panic he screamed again. With a flail of arms and legs, Kaito backed up to the farthest part of the room and sat there, whimpering with tears in his eyes.

"Kaito?" Shinichi called just as the door was pushed from his grasp. Shinichi immediately knew it was another demon, but whatever demon could make Kaito react like that was no ordinary demon to be messed with. He launched himself away from the door just as he turned to look at what it was that he had to face but stopped short just as he collected his footing. The word tumbled from his mouth before he could catch them. "Fish?" He questioned as the demon barreled forward. This one was slower but larger. Its teeth were razor sharp and red with something looking like blood. Kaito let out another squeal of terror as Shinichi said the name and shot at it multiple times when he found it barreling towards the detective.

Its body was repulsive. It's fins were like arms and legs and it was honestly the most terrifying thing that Kaito had ever seen. The cards didn't lodge themselves into the fish as he had anticipated. The scales seemed to be made from something heavier than the steel that the deck was made of and that terrified him all the more. As the fish closed in on Shinichi, Kaito sat frozen, completely terrified at the entire situation.

It was odd. Shinichi wasn't supposed to have feelings of affection or friendship for a thief. They were on completely different sides of the law and this thief was also a flamboyant magician who didn't know the meaning of calm down, but the feeling in his chest was the same as it had been with Ran when they were younger, before he had become Conan, yet it was stronger than it had been with Ran. Seeing Kaito balled up on the other side of the room had brought on a feeling that he hadn't experienced in a while. The need to protect. He wasn't going to ignore any other the emotions he was feeling. Hell, he knew what would happen if he held them back or ignored them. The Black Organization had helped with that.

So when the new demon came after Shinichi and Kaito had done nothing but quiver in fear, Shinichi knew that it was his turn to help protect Kaito and himself. When the fish demon came at him and was nearly on top of the detective, Shinichi ducked under it and smacked it with the door. The demon toppled over onto its stomach as Shinichi ran over to Kaito. Shinichi's only thought was that the demon they were dealing with now had to be the stupidest one they had seen the entire time, but if it made Kaito react like this, he wasn't going to just stand there and watch it tear them to shreds of skin and meat.

As the demon worked itself into a sitting position Shinichi grabbed Kaito by the arm and took the card gun from his hand. turning with the gun trained on the demon he wavered. He hadn't fired a gun at a living thing before. Dead pigs once when his father took him to Hawaii, but never living. Were these demons even alive? They surely weren't anything from this world, but just as the demon stood on its feet Kaito let out a shuddering breath of fear that Shinichi thought was most likely supposed to be a whimper before it didn't matter anymore. He needed to protect the thief just as Kaito had done for him up until now.

The card gun didn't have as much of a kick back as he thought it would. His first shot was off and bounced right off of the scales making the demon turn to him angrily. The second shot failed to hit its mark as the demon stood up on it's slimy feet. The third shot wedged itself under one of the gills on the demon before three more hit in quick succession. The demon let out an angry bubbling noise as it looked at them with its beady eyes but did nothing but fall to the ground and continue to let out a bubbling sound before it stopped moving. Black blood seeped from under the gills and turned to dust before the rest of the demon started to fade away.

The two teens leaned against the wall, shaking slightly, as they tried to collect their thoughts. Shinichi was the first of the two that looked around. The gun slipped from his hand and fell to the ground but neither hardly heard the sound. Shinichi's face was still slightly damp, but he wasn't sure if it was from water or the nervous sweat he had broken out in. When his eyes landed on Kaito he couldn't look away. Kaito looked wrecked to say the least. He wouldn't stop looking at the demon even when it was completely gone. The stone where it had been was being inspected thoroughly as the magician made certain that it was actually gone. Shinichi, on his better judgement, put a shaky hand on Kaito's arm and watched as the magician slid down the wall. Finally, the taller teen closed his eyes and stuffed them into his knees from where the demon had died and let out another long breath.

"Kaito…" Shinichi began as he leant down next to him. "It's okay, it's gone now." He said slowly. Kaito only nodded and shifted so that he was leaning against Shinichi's body. The teenage detective blushed a little at the contact but didn't move away. One hand lifted slowly and settled on the magician's head causing the other to flinch. Shinichi almost moved his hand but thought better of it when Kaito didn't move away. "I didn't know you were afraid of fish." Shinichi spoke softly and Kaito flinched at the last word. It must have been a pretty bad phobia for him to react at the mere word. Despite the flinch, Kaito merely picked his head up from his knees.

"It happened when I was little. One of dads magic tricks went wrong for the first time in years and ended up breaking a tank filled with…" Kaito began and swallowed down a lump in his throat from the memory. "I was covered. They had trouble finding me and I still can't…" He put his face back in his knees then and didn't say anymore.

"It's okay. We'll get through this." The older teen mumbled and let go then. "But first how about we finish getting ready and look for bedding?" He asked as Kaito looked up at him. The magician nodded and with the helping hand of the detective he got up on shaky feet. "I'm done getting ready, why don't I wait in here? You look like you're about to pass out." Shinichi commented. Kaito blushed, clearly irritated that Shinichi had to see him like that, but said nothing as they parted. Shinichi went to the door and stood with the gun in his hand facing the whole of the bathroom kindly ignoring Kaito who had walked over to the toilet.

Once they were both finished with the bathroom Shinichi picked up the steel cards from the floor where the demon had turned to dust and popped them back into the gun. The ones that they had managed to retrieve from before were chipped and dented in some places but Kaito had told him that they were still usable so he continued using them. For now, it was the only thing that they had that worked against the demons. As it was, they were barely out the door of the bathroom when another demon that looked like a child came at them. It screeched before they even saw it and they had to cover their ears so that they wouldn't go deaf. Safe to say it didn't help much. One shot to the head was all it took to quiet the wailing beast.

"Come on, let's see if we can find that room where we got the bed from." Shinichi said to Kaito who put away his gun after retrieving the card. The magician nodded and turned to walk with Shinichi to the second floor.

Retrieving the bedding was more of a difficult task than the two had anticipated. They had two more demons chase them down before they could find the room and it took more than an hour for each demon to disappear. The leopard one and blood red one were the more difficult of the bunch after all. Kaito's card gun didn't was too slow for one and too flimsy for the other. Two hours after their little cat and mouse with the demons, they found the rooms they needed and sat for a short water break. On the bright side, the blankets that they had found were wool instead of feathers. They would soak up the suns warmth easily and keep the two teens warm over the course of the night. They debated on bringing another bed back with them, but the first time they had nearly died and there wasn't enough room for another bed in the garden.

As they were putting their water away to get going Shinichi winced as his stitches stretched. Kaito glanced over at him and tied his backpack closed before slinging it over his back and straightening.

"Are your stitches bothering you?" He asked as Shinichi closed his own back pack. The detective glanced over at him.

"A bit, but only because we've been moving a bit more than yesterday. I can handle it." He said and though Kaito was weary, he continued over to the door.

"Hey, Shinichi." Kaito said on their way out the door. Shinichi looked over at him curiously and Kaito felt his stomach flip but continued. "Just… be careful." Kaito offered in a mumble and Shinichi's face was dusted with pink before he nodded.

The run over to Eden was cut short as another fish demon showed up and Kaito wrenched back against the wall. Shinichi grit his teeth in frustration but managed to fish the gun out of Kaito's breast pocket and smack the demon in the side of the head as it came charging at him. The demon was nearly three heads taller than him, but he managed to knock it off its feet before shooting it three times under the gills. The demon flopped a few times before going still and even before it turned to dust Shinichi grabbed the cards from the dead body and dusted off the card before putting it back into the gun and pocketing it. Offering a hand to the thief, they walked through the door into the hall that held Eden and walked through the barrier.

When they walked through there was a chorus of whispers that floated through the air. When Shinichi and Kaito looked around at all the flowers they found that the three flower demons were tending to the garden. They had never heard this reaction before.

Too surprised to say anything, they quietly walked over to the bed and listened to all the pleased whispered that came from the plants. They couldn't understand the words, but when the three demons noticed that the two detectives had returned, they stopped tending to the garden to pay attention to the boys.

"We hope you had a safe trip." They all said together and if that wasn't the creepiest thing the two teens had seen yet…

"We were just dropping off the bedding and then going back out. We still have to find out more about this mansion and maybe a way to stop the two... uh, ghosts." Shinichi said making a disgusted face at the way the word ghost rolled off his tongue. The three demons shared a look that confused the teens before smiling.

"Well alright. Please come back safely." Murasaki said and the other two nodded before going back to petting and crooning to the flowers. The two teens began emptying their bags while trying to ignore the whispers that had started up again.

A/N: Wow, that took me longer than I thought it would. Mostly because I was looking for a beta reader and trying to find the flow again. I feel like I majorly rushed this.

MAJOR IMPORTANT NOTE: My editor and I agreed that I should start over. I won't be deleting content, just adding more in and separating the days into two chapters. So, I know I just got you into this story, but I'll be taking everything but the prologue down after I rewrite the first chapter. Thank you guys for reading this far and I hope that you'll read the rewritten version as well! Comment and tell me how I've done so far!


End file.
